Financial services M&A dips as management shifts priorities January 12, 2021 M&A in the UK’s financial services industry dropped amid the pandemic as management’s priority shifted away from deals to the preservation of cash. The UK financial services industry announced just 136 deals in 2020 down from 211 in 2019, according to exclusive EY data. Deal activity came to a near standstill at the start of [...]
Surge in bumper deals helps UK M&A regain its mojo December 18, 2020 After a slow start to the year UK M&A has bounced back after a surge in mega deals saw activity soar 80 per cent. M&A with UK involvement has totalled £429.8bn so far this year, 80 per cent more than the value recorded in 2019 according to research by data provider Refinitiv. A staggering 21 [...]
Paddy Power owner Flutter in $4.2bn deal for FanDuel stake, sending shares higher December 3, 2020 Shares in the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, Flutter, have jumped nearly seven per cent this afternoon on news it will buy a 37.5 per cent stake in FanDuel for $4.18bn. Around $2.1bn of that will be in cash to Fastball with the remainder received in Flutter shares. London-listed Flutter also said it will raise [...]
S&P Global agrees $44bn mega-deal for IHS Markit November 30, 2020 S&P Global has agreed a $44bn (£33bn) deal to buy data firm IHS Markit in a move that will create a new financial services giant.
Estate agent chain Connells confirms £82m Countrywide takeover bid November 23, 2020 Estate agent chain Connells has confirmed an £82m takeover bid for competitor Countrywide, saying a cash injection by private equity rival Alchemy Group would not go far enough to rescue the embattled firm. Connells said this morning that it has completed its due diligence work on Countrywide and reconfirmed its offer price of 250p per [...]
Insurer RSA’s board backs £7.2bn takeover deal November 18, 2020 British insurance giant RSA has recommended its shareholders back a £7.2bn takeover bid by groups from Canada and Denmark, in what could be one of the biggest M&A deals this year. The final bid from Canada’s Intact Financial and Denmark’s Tryg comes after two weeks of speculation, and was confirmed by RSA today. RSA has [...]
Deloitte Legal acquires London tech and digital media law firm November 3, 2020 Deloitte Legal will acquire technology and digital media law firm Kemp Little, adding 29 partners and up to 57 lawyers in the process.
October saw second highest ever month for ‘mega deals’ November 2, 2020 October was a bumper month for mergers and acquisition activity, with the second-highest monthly tally of “mega deals” on record. Nineteen mega deals – worth $5bn or more – were announced last month, a monthly tally exceeded only once, in May 2007, according to data from Refinitiv. Since 1 January, 93 mega deals have been [...]
UK betting firm Genius Sports to go public with $1.5bn US deal October 27, 2020 UK sports data firm Genius Sports Group is planning to go public with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with special purpose acquisition company Dmy Technology. The deal values the combined group at around $1.5bn. Genius Sports boss Mark Locke will stay on as chief executive following the transaction. Dmy chairman [...]
Customer generation platform MVF buys Appwiki amid online sales surge October 26, 2020 Digital customer generation platform MVF has bought Dutch software comparison site Appwiki amid a surge in the number of firms attempting to boost their online capabilities due to the coronavirus crisis. The acquisition, which will allow MVF to use Appwiki’s comparison technology, comes as demand for digital consumer generation has soared due to the acceleration [...]